


This I Promise You

by Sauronix



Series: Nix's Tumblr Fics [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Excessive Sap - Freeform, Flash Fic, Gladio's Crying, Husbands, M/M, Oaths & Vows, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-03 08:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13337412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauronix/pseuds/Sauronix
Summary: “Iggy, you know this kind of thing ain’t exactly easy for me,” Gladio says, his warm hand squeezing Ignis’s own, “so Iris helped me put what I wanted to say into words. Sorry if any of this sounds like a speech. I swear it’s from the heart.”A flash fic based on the following Tumblr prompts: "things you said while you were crying" and "things you said after it was over."





	1. The Vows

“Iggy, you know this kind of thing ain’t exactly easy for me,” Gladio says, his warm hand squeezing Ignis’s own, “so Iris helped me put what I wanted to say into words. Sorry if any of this sounds like a speech. I swear it’s from the heart.”

Ignis smiles. It’s his first genuine smile of the day—the first that hasn’t been nervous, or forced, or something closer to a grimace. He’s happy; of course he is. How could he be otherwise, on a day such as this? But so many things could have gone wrong. So many things could yet go wrong before they make it through this ceremony.

“It’s been nineteen years since our first date at Laura’s Coffee House. I didn’t even like coffee—still don’t—but it was your favourite cafe. I wanted to impress you. Wanted to give you a reason to say yes to a second date. Besides, back then, I would’ve gone anywhere, or done anything, to spend time with you.” There’s a pause before he adds, “And that hasn’t changed.

“We’ve walked together into some pretty dark places. And I don’t just mean Gralea, or those ruins in the Vesperpool you dragged me to. Those were easy, in retrospect.” Gladio holds his hand a little tighter, lacing their fingers together. “I’m talking about the nights you talked me off a ledge when Dad died, and the days after your accident in Altissia. They were tough times, Iggy. But you kept me strong. Kept me going. You’re the only reason I made it through in one piece.”

A light breeze ruffles Ignis’s hair, tantalizing him with the fragrance of sword lilies. Iris chose them. She insisted they would be more meaningful than roses or tulips, and Ignis didn’t object. What did it matter if his wedding wasn’t traditional? He never thought he’d marry, anyway. Not until Gladio brought it up over breakfast one morning, his voice easy and sure, as if he were discussing which colour to paint the bedroom wall. It was only when Ignis took his hand that he realized Gladio was shaking.

“Nineteen years is a long time to spend with one person,” Gladio goes on. Now his voice sounds thick, layered with the sort of raw emotion he’s unaccustomed to speaking. “And I guess I’m one selfish bastard, because here I am, asking you for more.” He sniffles, then laughs, and when he raises Ignis’s hand to kiss his knuckles, his lips are wet with what must be tears. “Shit, Iggy, I’m supposed to stand here and promise you everything. That’s what vows are all about, right?

“But we both know life ain’t that easy. I can’t promise we won’t fight over money, and you probably won’t cherish me when I leave all my dirty clothes on the floor. Hell, we may not have tomorrow, because life ain’t fair and fate takes what it wants. But if there’s one thing I can promise you, it’s this: I love you, and I’ll spend every day we have together showing you just how much.”

Gladio kisses the fingers of one hand, then the other, and the officiant clears his throat. “Ignis, will you take this man to be your husband?”

“I will,” Ignis says around the lump in his throat, “and I do.”


	2. Wedding Night

It’s late when the party finally winds down. A crescent moon hangs high over Angelgard, its silver light shimmering on the ocean’s surface. Waves crash on an empty beach, and the resort sleeps, except for a few night owls who linger at the bar. Most of their wedding guests have already left.

Ignis goes on ahead of him to their hotel room; Gladio lingers to say goodbye to the stragglers. He shakes Prompto’s hand and kisses Iris and Monica on the cheek. Promises to visit Dustin and Cor in Insomnia when he next has time off work. Rolls Cid in his wheelchair down the boardwalk while Cindy goes to bring the truck around.

Then they go, and he’s alone.

Hands in his pockets, he strolls back through the restaurant, toward the hotel. At this hour, there’s no one around but him and the skeleton crew. Servers in black aprons clear champagne glasses off the tables, strip the linens, pack leftover cake into boxes. One of them smiles at Gladio as he passes. Gladio nods in response. Normally, he’d stay and make small talk, but not tonight. Tonight, Ignis is waiting for him. And Gladio doesn’t plan on leaving him hanging.

As he walks the halls, he shrugs out of his suit jacket and takes off his cufflinks, rolling his sleeves up his arms. He loosens his tie and unbuttons the collar of his dress shirt. Fancy clothes have never been his thing. Hell, he wanted to elope, but Iris nixed that idea pretty quick, and Ignis insisted he wear a three-piece suit for the ceremony. _I may not be able to see you_ , he said as he helped Gladio shrug into his jacket, _but everyone else certainly can, and I won’t have my fiancé showing up to his own wedding looking like a ruffian_.

Gladio smiles and lets himself into their suite. A wall of windows overlooks the bay, spilling moonlight across the floor and the king bed. Ignis is already sitting there, dressed in a fluffy white bathrobe, propped up against the pillows with a book open in his lap. His fingers move across the pages, though he pauses, turning his head, when the door clicks shut behind Gladio.

“Hey,” Gladio says, tossing his jacket over the back of the chair next to the bed. “Sorry I was gone so long. Cid wouldn’t stop talking about a new garage Cindy’s thinkin’ about opening in Lestallum. He’s pretty excited about it.”

“That’s all right.” Ignis closes the book and sets it aside, then holds out his hand to Gladio. “Come here.”

Gladio climbs onto the bed and leans down to kiss him. Ignis’s mouth opens to him, tongue caressing Gladio’s own, one hand cupping the side of Gladio’s neck. There’s nothing passionate about it—that’ll come later— but it makes Gladio feel warm and wanted. He slips his hand inside Ignis’s robe where it’s parted at the belt, tracing the lines of his ribs.

“Hello, husband,” Ignis murmurs as they pull apart slowly, each with a sigh, their fingertips lingering on each other’s skin.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and for kudos/comments! [Let's be friends on Tumblr!](https://sauronix.tumblr.com/)


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